The Crucible Theme of Religion Essay

731 WordsSep 29th, 20133 Pages

In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses themes to display thoughts throughout the book. The theme that seems to be the center point of the story is religion. Religion is on the character’s minds with every action they do. When something goes wrong in the town, religion is sought out as a cause. When the witch trials begin, the devil is supposed to be the source of the troubles. Arthur Miller vividly uses religion to show the readers how important religion is to the people of Salem.
At the start of The Crucible, we find Reverend Parris praying. Arthur Miller automatically shows us religion is important. “Reverend Parris is discovered kneeling beside the bed, evidently in prayer.” When the people of Salem realize something is wrong with Betty…show more content…

“Theology, sir is a fortress may not be accounted small.” Arthur Miller uses religion to display the lives of the people in Salem throughout Act 3.
In Act 3, the theme of religion has a different meaning than before. Now, the theme of religion is used in a manipulative way so the people can get what they want. Abigail and the rest of the girls are using Mary Warren because she has turned against them. Abigail pretends Mary is a yellow bird and is taking over their spirits. “Draw back your spirit out of them!” As soon as Abigail and the girls blame Mary for witchcraft Danforth believes them and starts to accuse Mary. “You have seen the Devil, you have made compact with Lucifer, have you not?” Mary Warren responds to the accusations with turning against Proctor. She completely disregards the pact they have made in order to save herself. “I’ll not hang with you! I love God, I love God.” In Act 4, Arthur Miller uses religion to test the characters.
In Act 4, the characters would either hold on to their religion and beliefs or give in to save themselves. John Proctor is the character who does not want to give in however he does not want to die. He wants to have a compromise but the authority will not let him do so. “It is no part of salvation, that you should use me!” Rebecca Nurse is another character who has the choice to confess but she does not give in. “Another judgment waits us all!”

The Theme of Justice in The Crucible
The crucible was set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The play is
based on true facts about events that actually took place. It is about
a small secluded town that relies strongly on their religion to keep
them feeling safe. Their enemy is the devil and they are always scared
of the devil and constantly looking for signs that the devil is there.
“We cannot leap to witchcraft. They will howl me out of Salem for such
corruption in my house.”
The fear…

The Theme of Evilness in The Crucible by Arthur Miller
In any type of society there is evil. Evil lives amongst us all,
sometimes in the people you would least suspect. Everybody in 'The
Crucible' has sinned in some way, except for Rebecca Nurse.
The play almost certainly starts off with an element of evil. The
people of Salem are puritans, so if it were known that a group of
girls were dancing naked and attempting to conjure up any spells in a
forest, it would certainly…

One timeless theme found in many pieces of literature is the abuse of power. Many people who are in power, abuse their power, and commonly become corrupt or unjust due to the power. The essence of human nature is to crave power. Along with this craving of power in some humans is the corruptness and injustice when one comes into power or on one 's path to achieving power. This is a timeless theme, as power and human nature have always existed in man 's history. This theme may be observed in Macbeth…

different time periods of history, all say the same: “Be who you are and don’t let anything change that.” These are great words to live by, but, in time of weakness, does one stay true? Can even the good be twisted? This is a theme that is represented throughout The Crucible many times. Characters such as Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale had good intentions or morals in the beginning but were soon marred by protecting a lover, temptation, or the questioning of all that one stood…

The Theme of Religion in Angela’s Ashes
Throughout the novel, religion is presented as being of extreme
importance in Irish society, influencing the beliefs and actions of
the characters. I will attempt to highlight the several factors which
I believe make up the presentation of religion in “Angela’s Ashes”.
From the beginning of the book, religion is said to make up a large
part of the unhappy childhood Frank suffered. The following quote
shows the extent of Frank’s sentiments:
“Worse…

A dramatist who explores the theme of revenge throughout his play is Arthur Miller in ‘The Crucible. There are different characters in this play that carry this theme of revenge, Abigail being one in particular, as she seeks revenge against Goody Proctor. This is due to Goody Proctor firing Abigail from her job after she had found out Abigail had had an affair with her husband. This seventeen-year-old girl also has an endless capacity for dissembling. John Proctor, Reverend Parris, and the Putnam’s…

In every literary work, there are themes. A theme is a broad idea, moral or message of a book or story. One individual may construe the themes of a book or story differently than another, but that is the pure beauty of themes. One great literary work is The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller. Succinctly, the play is about the Salem witch trials that took place in Massachusetts in 1692. Throughout the story, the townspeople indict their neighbors of being a witch and practicing witchcraft.…

Themes in The Crucible
In the crucible Arthur Miller takes the chilling story of the Salem
witch hunt in 1692 and combines it with the issues of McCarthyism in
the 1950s. The play reflects Miller’s ideas and opinions about
McCarthyism and what he thinks are the similarities to the Salem witch
hunts. Proctor is the main character Millers uses to reflect the
unfairness of the Salem and McCarthy trials and how the truth died in
the 1950s. This makes Proctor’s role very dramatic and exciting…

The Crucible was not widely accepted when it was originally released. The literature was Arthur Miller's response to McCarthyism and the Red Scare. During the play Abigail Williams accuses most of Salem of being a witch. This leads to mass hysteria within the town. Which in turn leads to Reverend Parris bringing Reverend John Hale to Salem. Hale is there to sort out and get rid of any presence of the Devil. There is a multitude of themes in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. These range any where…

Miller's Presentation of the Theme Of Greed And Envy within The Crucible
'The Crucible' was written in 1953 by Arthur Miller in the time of the
cold war, although the play was set in 1692. The play is about a town
called Salem in America and about the witch-hunts that took place
there. Because it was written in this time period there is a feeling
of mistrust, greed and envy echoed in the play. Arthur Miller plays on
these feelings and produces a theme of greed and envy that is…